Kyoto

About Kyoto

Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.
Kyoto is considered to be the centre of Japan’s cultural life. Here cherished traditional art forms are maintained, making it a rich experience for the visitor. With more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and 270 Shinto shrines, the city is one of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite functioning as a modern city today, in many ways it stands in contrast to the metropolis of Tokyo.

Many of Japan’s most important and ancient Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples

VISITING KYOTO

Highlights include the Golden Pavilion, Kiyomizu Temple, Heian Jingu, the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle with its nightingale floors. Not forgetting the less-visited temples, such as Ryoan-ji with its stone garden and the villas of Manpuku-ji, Shisen-do and Ginkaku-ji, offering moments of peace among their small courtyards and traditional architecture.
A stroll through the central parts of Kyoto is the best way to see the bustling marketplace in Nishiki-koji, the picturesque neighbourhoods of Kiyamachi and the famous Geisha quarters of Gion and Pontocho.
Unlike most other Japanese cities, Kyoto is clearly laid out and easy to navigate. The city is planned according to Chinese models, with streets running perpendicular to each other. Kyoto was burned and pillaged many times during the Middle Ages, but is the only major Japanese city which was not bombed during WWII.
Kyoto is renowned for its abundance of delicious Japanese food. The special circumstances of Kyoto as a city away from the sea and home to many Buddhist temples resulted in the development of a rich vegetable-based cuisine peculiar to the Kyoto area.